Increased Carry-On Sizes

Since the dawn of the airline industry, people have needed a solution for transporting their belongings on flights. And while a fair amount of luggage and belongings can be taken and stored in the bowels of the plane. But what about the more fragile belongings that we want to bring with us? This is exactly where carry-on baggage comes into play. We can bring our smaller luggage with us and store it into the overhead compartment. Unfortunately, however, most times, the standard carry-on sizes on most major airlines still do not quite cut it. But, two airlines are looking to change that.

According to a recent report from TravelSkills.com, two major American airlines have expanded their accepted carry-on sizes. Virgin America is now accepting carry-on luggage with dimensions of 10x16x24. To put that into perspective, most major airlines only allow carry-on luggage with the dimensions 9x14x22. That may not sound like very much on paper, but when you are already stressed because you have just waited for what feels like hours in baggage check-in and security screening and are concerned about whether or not your carry-on can fit into the overboard compartment, those few inches absolutely make a difference.

For all of you frequent flyers, if Virgin’s new dimensions sound like a dream come true for your bulky laptop bag or suitcase, Alaska Airlines is going a step further. With a whopping 10x17x24, Alaska Airlines is certainly the leader in spacious carry-on sizes. To make matters even better, Alaska recently announced that Virgin, a subsidiary of Alaska Airlines, would be implementing the newer, more spacious sizes soon.

The newer, more generous dimensions can be attributed to Alaska and Virgin’s new Airbus fleet that comes fully loaded with over-sized overhead compartments.

While I certainly understand how this news may seem strange or miniscule to those of you who do not fly very often or have carry-on luggage, but for those that do, it is almost life saving. This will certainly win Alaska and Virgin some well-deserved bonus points from travelers.

Dave Pflieger is currently the CEO of Island Air and previously the President and CEO of Silver Airways. Previously, Dave Pflieger was the CEO & Managing Director of Air Pacific (later Fiji Airways). Before joining Air Pacific, Mr. Pflieger was a Founding Officer and Senior Vice President at Virgin America from 2004 to 2010.